The Stripped Issue_1

What has your experience been in the industry in terms of dark-skin
discrimination? Have either of you experienced it in the industry rsthand?
Malka X: [Laughs] Oh, sorry. I just laugh because I have experienced
discrimination is so many di erent avenues. As a collector, I get told what I
can and cannot get without the artist even being willing to explain or
explore other options. As a tattoo model and pageant queen, I get overtly and
covertly looked over by convention owners, artists and tattoo supply
manufacturers for the lighter skinned models or pageant queens. As a bodyart
broker, I have experienced people not willing to pay my rate or telling
me that I don’t know how to consult them because my skin is darker. I
would like to think that in 2020 we can admit that racism, bias and
prejudice exists in all areas of life — including the tattoo industry.
Angel Rose: Here’s the worst part, and part of the reason I can see this
project’s importance — I am an o ender, too. While learning to tattoo, I
learned to desaturate my photos and to talk to dark-skinned clients a certain
way. It took me a few years of tattooing before I realized that I shouldn’t be
doing any of that. I still nd heavily edited photos of my tattoos from earlier
in my career and think back to times where I could have done better. I
expect better from myself in so many aspects of my life, and I’m so
embarrassed to admit that I was afraid to question these strange archaic,
racist practices. I couldn’t be more glad that I woke up from that bullshit.
What are some of the common misconceptions about tattooing dark skin?
Malka X: People with dark skin cannot get color. Black ink is our only option.
Angel Rose: From a tattooer’s standpoint, the general misconception is that
it is di cult to work with dark skin. We commonly tell clients that they
can’t get what they want because it won’t look the way our white-washed
tattoo-artist brains think it should look. The thing is, there should be no ego
in tattooing. If a client wants something, who are we to tell them that it
won’t look good just because it doesn’t match the photos in the magazines?
Who are we to withhold certain styles of tattooing from them just because it
won’t photograph the same and look picturesque in our portfolio? Yikes
people, seriously. Let’s be better. There is a way to approach all kinds of skin
and it takes a certain amount of humility to remove yourself from the
equation to gure out what the client’s needs really are. If we can do full
color cover ups of black-as-fuck '90s tribal, then we can de nitely work with
a non-Caucasian skin tone.